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Messages - gil

#2761
Antennas / Re: Ground rods, how?
October 18, 2012, 11:21:21 AM
Yep, I used to have a 32ft steel boat. I had zinc blocks along the hull. They went first before the steel...

Gil.
#2762
New To Radio / Re: Just got first SW.
October 18, 2012, 11:07:05 AM
Hello jmb,

The length is not as important for listening as it is for transmitting. For transmitting, you often have to be within a few inches. I mentioned 66ft because it is a half wave on 40m and a quarter wave on 80m. It should however work well on all HF frequencies. If the radio has a ground plug, or the antenna plug has an outer ground connection, you might want to try another length of wire connected to that. I am not experienced in SWL, so I am just guessing at what would work. Other people here would know more. Also keep in mind that]depending on the bands and time of day of your listening, you might not hear much! Below 10MHz, listen at night. Above 10MHz, listen during the day. Go to arrl.org and look for the Ham frequencies band plan, it will tell you where to listen. I would suggest the SSB parts of 40 and 20m: 7100-7300kHz and 14100-14350kHz...

Gil.
#2763
Antennas / Re: Ground rods, how?
October 18, 2012, 10:54:16 AM
Yes. They're not all copper, but copper clad steel rods... It was cheap, don't remember exactly..

Gil.
#2764
Antennas / Re: Ground rods, how?
October 18, 2012, 12:06:58 AM
The fence post pounder was $28 at Home Depot. I figured I'd use it again... You're welcome to borrow it if you come down here for work...

Gil.
#2765
New To Radio / Re: Just got first SW.
October 18, 2012, 12:05:35 AM
Hello jmb, and welcome aboard. I was looking at that radio too, and might even buy it for traveling. It has very good reviews.

As far as an antenna, a long wire should do fine. You don't need to invest in an expensive antenna. I would try a 66ft. wire, which is a half wavelength for 40m (7MHz) and should work well for everything. I use a slingshot with a 1oz fishing weight and 14# fishing line to shoot wire up tree branches... 200ft. would certainly work!

Gil.
#2766
Antennas / Re: Ground rods, how?
October 17, 2012, 10:15:27 PM
Well, I have only one! Six inches stick out of the ground...

Gil.
#2767
Licensing / Re: Say hello to a New General!!
October 17, 2012, 05:34:46 PM
Hi Tim, the parts are not hard to find or expensive, but I've been buying radio stuff instead!

Gil.
#2768
Antennas / Re: Ground rods, how?
October 17, 2012, 05:33:34 PM
I pounded mine into the ground using a fence post pounding gizmo, it was very easy...

Gil.
#2769
Antennas / Re: Rugged Antennas.
October 17, 2012, 05:32:23 PM
Thanks Jim. There won't be any plastic in that antenna, only a Delrin block for the connection and adjustments...

For HF I have an end-fed dipole but I want 80 and 30m, so I have to come up with another solution...

Gil.
#2770
Licensing / Say hello to a New General!!
October 17, 2012, 01:33:04 PM
I did read one entertaining book where South African time travelers bring AK47s to the South, but I forgot the author's name or title.

Gil
#2771
Licensing / Re: Say hello to a New General!!
October 17, 2012, 11:29:43 AM
Hello Tim,

I am missing the lock, trigger and a few other small parts...

Anyway, one may wonder what America would be today if the South had won. Slavery would have been abolished, just a bit later, due to worldwide pressure. The States would be much more independent of course.. Big Brother would be Baby Brother.. Who knows..

Gil.
#2772
Licensing / Re: Say hello to a New General!!
October 17, 2012, 01:24:06 AM
Hi Ray, it's a Lehigh County flintlock, .50, 40" barrel.
I wonder if I'll ever finish it...

Gil.
#2773
Dave Benson is supposedly working on a new version... Who knows when that'll come out though...

Gil.
#2774
Licensing / Re: Say hello to a New General!!
October 17, 2012, 12:04:50 AM
Ray, check this out... Haven't had time or money to work on it... The stone was a gift from my ex girlfriend's little girl...

Gil.

#2775
General Discussion / Re: Do YOU Have A Plan?
October 16, 2012, 11:58:12 PM
Time and money that could be used for other things more pleasant to think about. Maybe because I don't own a television or care about sports, I have time to look around and get worried. We would be fools not to make some preparations. Unfortunately we are surrounded by fools. Like those lounging on the Titanic's deck laughing at people putting life vests on... Because of course the boat couldn't sink. If I was 25 and not 45, I would pray for it to hit the fan. Now I know better. I am nowhere near ready, and that little voice is screaming in my ear to hurry up. Intuition is nothing more than data processed by our brains unconsciously. Usually those feelings of uneasiness are well founded, because they are based on observation and powerful processing outside of our grasp. Like Tim, I had no worries five years ago. Today is woefully  different. I just hope nothing goes down before the spring.. One thing is certain, as Luck hints, we are on our own. That is why I urge people here to get on the air and call each-other. I just had a nice long QSO with RadioRay on 30m :) Bless him for being so patient with my slow-as-molasses Morse copy speed. We need to know who we can trust and exchange information with. Remember that everything has an end, and that includes the Internet. The Internet doesn't run on servers and fiber optics, it runs on money. Everything does these days. Money isn't green, it's black and it comes out of the ground. How reliable is that given what it takes to get it out? So they just print more monopoly bills.. I feel like sailing on a cardboard ship and there is a suspicious black cloud ahead. Everyone is partying. The captain and crew are stashing money in their shirts, heading to the lifeboats with a smile and a gun handle sticking out of their pants, while I'm at the bow getting more gray hairs realizing that there aren't enough life boats for everyone. I'd rather be partying too, but now the warning bells are too loud. I want to scream to everyone that they are fools and we are going to take the plunge, but I know they'll just laugh and think I'm crazy. What is that whooshy sound under my feet?

Gil.